Opinion
June 22, 1995
Appeal from the Supreme Court, St. Lawrence County (Demarest, J.).
In each of these proceedings, petitioner is a public utility company which owns real property improved by a high-voltage transmission line. Respondents initially granted petitioner partial real property tax exemptions pursuant to RPTL 485-b for petitioner's property located within their respective tax jurisdictions. After the Court of Appeals held that real property improved by electrical and gas transmission and distribution equipment is not eligible for the RPTL 485-b partial exemption ( see, Matter of Long Is. Light. Co. v. Board of Assessors, 81 N.Y.2d 1029), respondents sought to correct the relevant final assessment rolls pursuant to RPTL article 5 by rescinding petitioner's partial exemptions based upon an error in essential fact. At issue in each proceeding is whether the tax levying body had statutory authority to correct the final assessment rolls and thereby rescind the partial exemptions previously granted to petitioner.
The Fourth Department recently considered this issue in Matter of Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. v. Town of Clay ( 208 A.D.2d 170) and concluded that the tax levying body possesses the authority to make the correction. We agree with the Court's reasoning and conclusion and see no need to write further on the issue. We reject petitioner's remaining argument that its property is eligible for the partial exemption because the property is improved by high-voltage transmission lines and substations which transport electricity over long distances, rather than the type of distribution equipment at issue in Matter of Long Is. Light. Co. v. Board of Assessors (supra; see, Matter of Iroquois Gas Transmission Sys. v. Town of Athens Assessor, 215 A.D.2d 952).
Mercure, J.P., Crew III, White and Spain, JJ., concur. Ordered that the judgments and orders are affirmed, without costs.